Catalytic converter and heat exchange unit therefor



April 21, 1942.

E. J. HOUDRY 2,280,089

CATALYTIC CONVERTER AND HEAT EXCHANGE UNIT THEREF Filed June 10. 1938 l2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ll`l`f`fllllllllllllllll. "a

/N VEN TOE EUGENE LLHuunnY ATTOENA'Y April 21 1942- E. J. HouDRY2,280,089

CATALYTIC CONVERTER AND HEAT EXCHANGE UNIT THEREFOR Filed June lO, 19382 Sheets-Sheet 2 W5/vm? EUGENELLHUUDRY @JMW Patented Apr. 21, 1942CATALYTIC CONVERTER AND HEAT EXCHANGE UNIT THEBEFOR Eugne J. Hendry.Ardmore. Pa., assigner to Hendry Process Corporation, Wilmington, Del.,a corporation oi Delaware Application Jane 10, 1938, Serial No. 212,864

(Ci. 2MB!) 7Claims.

'I'his invention relates generally to converters for effecting chemicalreactions involving the use of contact materials which may assist or inany way promote the reaction. More particularly it has to do withmaintaining the temperatures of the mass in accordance with transitionsfrom one reaction temperature to another and adapting the variousconverter parts to adjustment according to the temperature changes.

When chemical reactions are carried out in the presence of a contactmass the success of the reaction is to a great degree a matter of propercontrol of the temperature of the mass which is often eected by thecirculation of a heatexchange medium out of direct contact with the massthrough tubes disposed therein. preferably equidistant from each otherand in parallel relation. for the purpose of uniformly adding heat tothe mass or extracting heat therefrom depending upon the particularreaction it is desired to control. As ordinarily constructed thereaction converter comprises a unitary structure including theconversion chamber and heat exchange system and the numerous partsthereof are subject to various strains and shocks due to temperaturevariations which after periods of use become defective. or deposits mayform within the heat exchange tubes which after a time will build up tosuch an extent as to adversely aect the now of heat exchange huidthrough the converter causing the reaction to take place too fast. tooslow or to cease entirely. In the event of any impairment to theconverter bly it is usuallynecessarytodismsntlethesametoremoveand repairor replace the defective part or parte. and this results in a great lossof time and entails a substantial amount of expense.

Various types of heat exchange media are used for controlling thetemperature of a mass. Gaseous fluids have been used effectively but arenot so eiiicient as a nuid which operates in two such as mercury, wateror diphenyl or materials which are normally solid and operate at hightemperatures in a liquid phase such as fused salts and metals of lowmelting point. In the use of some of these media and particularly thoseacting in a ainglephase,V anyieakage of the medium into the reactionchamber may deleteriously affect the catalyst or disrupt the reaction.In the conversion of low boiling hydrocarbons from hydrocarbons of ahigher boiling point where a heat exchange medium which operates in asingle phase is used for controlling the temperature of the mass themingling of the medium with the hydrocarbon vapors in the reactionchamber mayunder certain operating conditions result in a dangerousexplosion.

It is the principal object of the invention to overcome thesedifficulties and provide a converter and heat exchange assemblypermitting freedom of movement of parts under expansion and contraction.Another object is to provide a converter and heat exchange assemblywherein conditions tending adversely to aii'ect a reaction areminimized. A further object is to provide a converter in which repairand replacement of parts is simplified. A still further object is toprovide a unitary heat exchange system which may be readily attached toa converter. A more specinc object is to provide novel heat exchangemanifold and tube connections which permit the ready assembly andremoval of tubes. Other objects will become apparent from the detaileddescription which follows.

In order to illustrate the invention. concrete embodiments thereof areshown in the accompanying drawings, wherein similar parts will besimilarly indicated.

Fig. ,i is a sectional and elevational view partly cut away disclosingthe main embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 2 is a partial horizontal sectional view on the line 2--2 of Fig.1.

Figs. 3, 4, 6 show modiiied forms of the tube and manifold assembly,

Fig.6isadetailofFig.i.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings is shown a converter. indicated generally bythe numeral il. embodying the principal features of the invention. Areaction chamber Il is formed within the converter by means of a ehrtI2, suspended from the inner wall and having its upper end Ilsecurelyxed theretoas by welding. `The main portion of the skirt is spaced fromthe inner wall and terminates a short distance from the end wall I4 ofthe converter and is provided with a b ottom sheet il formed integral orsuitably fixed thereto and, in'order to allow for temperature cli-angesmay be split adjacent its lower edge providing an expansion Joint Il,which may be fixed to a ring Il secured to the bottom sheet. and aportion Iloverlylng the joint and ring for thepurposeofsealingthejointagaixnttheentranoe of any substance which mightinterfere with its operation. The reaction chamber Il may con tain acontact mass Moi any known material. catalytic or otherwise. capable ofpfbducing the desired effect upon a substance brought in contacttherewith. For example. it may be mere inert spreading material such asfragments of The bottom sheet It of the reaction chamber may beperforated as indicated at l to permit the passage of reactant uld orreacti products. if the reaction is a straight throng process or it maybe provided with apertured distributor and/or outlet or collector tubesii the reaction iiuid has a course of parallel now. Neither of theseexpediente is shown, since they form no part of the present inventionand amo for the purpose of. clarifying the drawings. The skirt i2 andthe bottom wall Il of the reaction chamber fom with the end wall Il andadjacent side portions of the converter a iluid manifolding chamber Ihaving nozzles 2 in communication therewith for directing duid Vto thereaction chamber or removing reaction products there from. Since thecontact material will have substantial weightI provision is made forbracing the bottom'sheet il of the reaction chamber and one arrangementfor doing this is by disposing tubular sleeves I2 in the manifoidingchamber at spaced intervals in order to rigidly interconnect the sheetIl and end wall Il of the converter.

As shown.- the converter II is provided with a plurality of heatexchange tubes 2li, which may be finned if desired, having closed ends2l. disposed within the contact mass in the reaction chamber and havingopen ends 22, extending outwardly of the end wall Il of the converterthrough suitably spaced apertures 2l and as clearly shown in Fig. 6, thetub v2li are secured in sealed relation to the reaction chamber bywelding to the end wall as at 2l. Threaded pipe couplings Mare inturniixedasbyweldingto the interior ofthe end wall Il about the apertures 2land threaded to receive the sleeves Il which have cooperating threadsadjacent their lower ends andi-are secured at their Yupper ends to thetube sheet. The bracing sleeves Il are preferably exteriorly threaded attheir lower ends to cooperate with inner threads on. the couplings 2l inorder that the space between the outer tubes and the sleeves may besuiliciently small to prevent the entrance of any of the mass from thereaction chamber.

The heat exchangeunit of the present invention comprises' amanifoldchamber indicated generally 'at 26 and` a plurality of` open end heatexchange tubes 21 secured thereto in cooperative relationship. Themanifold chamber will be ofsuch proportions of size and shape as toreadily adapt itself to any converter with which it is to be used andpreferably is cylindrical and made up of spaced top and bottom walls 28and respectively and an interconnecting vside wall 30 which, as shown,may be formed integral with one of the spaced walls and welded to theother. The heat exchange tubes of the unit are assembled with themanifold in a manner to permitV end portions disposed within themanifold chamber will be swaged outwardly to provide shoulders 32adapted to cooperate with the sbutments 32 for providing a substantiallyiluld tight t. The tube ends are threaded as at 3l to cooperate withthreads in the apertures in the bottom wall for maintaining the tubesfixed and in parallel relation. f

In order to assemble or detach the tubes without damaging the same, theswaged ends may be provided with an annular plug 3i which may beassociated therewith in a manner to provide a tluidseal and have aportion 36 extending outwardly of the tubes adapted to receive asuitable tool for screwing or unscrewing the tubes into the bottom wall2| and as a further precaution a cap Il may be secured to the tube ends.The swaged ends of the tubes are apertured as at 38 to providecommunication with the chamber 2l.

and a heat exchange duid conduit 3l also communicates with the chamberfor admitting duid thereto. yWhile I have shown only one conduit fordelivering fluid to the chamber 2G it is within the scope of theinvention to provide a plurality of inlet conduits for simultaneouslydelivering iiuid to diierent portions oi the chamber, for exampleconcentric inlet headers may be disposed below the manifold withbranches leading therefrom for supplying iluid to the manifoldsimultaneously at numerous points. The open end tubes 21 are smaller indiameter than the closed end tubes 20 and are disposed `Within thelarger tubes in nested relation when the heat exchange unit andconverter are assembled and are adapted to transmit heat exchange duidfrom thermanifold 26 to the outer tubes lin heat exchange relation withthe catalytic mass M for controlling the temperature oi' the niass.

In order to assemble the heat exchange ap. paratus, the converter has anor skirt lo securely dxed to the converter about the end Il and the heatexchange manifold is attached to the inner wall of the skirt by aplurality of angle brackets Il (Figs. i and 2l providing spaces` 42(Fig. 2) between the manifold 2li and the skirt. Positioned below themanifold and secured in sealing engagement with rib Il extending fromthe inner wall of skirt I0 Yis an arcuate plate Il -(Fig. l) formingwith the end wall I4 of the coniromthe outer tubes 2| to the chamber Theend plate Il. is provided with a iluid outlet I1 for directing the huidafter e in heat exchange relationship'wlth the mass to a 'suitable heatexchanger and pump (not shown) for Arecirculation. Thefheat exchangeduid inlet 8l v may` be provided with Van expansionV YJoint 4l to turesin the lower manifold wall for adjustably positioning the tubes and inorder to seal the lower manifold wall washers l2 are retained about itsapertures by means of caps Il secured to the plugs Il. In Fig. 4 theremovable plug il is provided with a guide il for centering and nxingthe position of the end of the tube during and after assembly. A stop(not shown) may be provided if desired to limit the extent of projectionof the tube through sleeve lll. According to these modified arrangementsin the event of a defective tube the plugs are detached from the lowerwall and the tubes may be readily removed by inserting a suitable toolin the apertures It.

In Fig. 5 is shown an alternative arrangement for assembling the tubeswith the manifold which combines the ideas embodied in Figs. 1, 3 and 4.I'he eeves 50 in this modification are ilxed to the t s 21 and the guide56 on the removable plug il is threaded to receive the ends of thetubes. In assembling the tubes and manifold, the plugs may be nrstsecured tothe ends of the tubes and the tubes then inserted through theapertures of the bottom plate which will be sufnciently large to admitthe sleeves III and if removal is necessary the assembled tube and plugcan be removed together.

The foregoing description of the illustrative embodiments is notintended as defining the limitsof the invention and 'it will beunderstood that the invention may be -variously modied within the scopeof the appended claims.

I claim as my invention: V

l. Apparatus for carrying out reactions comprising a converter casinghaving side and end walls providing a chamber, a partition positionedwithin the chamber forming a reaction chamber and iluid .manifoldingchamber. a plurality of tubesimsaid reaction chamber each having an openend extending through the partition and one end wall and closed endswithin the reaction chamber. said open -ends being secured to said endwall, in combination with a heat exchange unit including a iiuidmanifoldpositioned exteriorly of said end wall having opposed upper lndlower`walls, apertures having inwardly diventino sides in the upper wall ofsaid manifold and a plurality of tubes each having an end extendingthrough said apertures in communication with said manifold and the otherend positioned with in the first mentioned tubes, bearing surfaces onthe tubes for cooperating with the divergingsides of the apertures andmeans in the other wall of..

said manifold for placing the bearing surfaces under compression.

2. Apparatus for carrying out reactions com prising a casing having sideand end walls, an apertured partition positioned within the casingforming a reaction chamber and duid manifolding chamber therefor, aplurality of tubes each having a closed end in said reaction chamber andand open end secured to and communicating through one end wall, incombination with a heat exchange unit including a fluid manifoldpositioned exterior-ly of said one end wall, said manifold havingopposed upper and lower walls, apertures having inwardly diversins sidesin one manifold wall, and a plurality of tubes having one end extendingthrough said apertures in communication with said manifold-and the otherend positioned within said iirst mentioned tubes, bearing surfaces onthe tubes cooperating with the diverging 'sides of the apertures andmeans in the other manifold wall for placing the bearing surfaces undercompression.

3. Anrupright converter comprising top and bottom end walls and aninterconnecting side wallforming a main chamber, a transverse wallhaving a plurality of apertures therein positioned within the chamber inspaced relation with theV side wall and in spaced relation with said bottom end wall, said bottom end wall having a plurality of aperturestherein aligned with the apertures in said transverse wall, a pluralityof closed end tubes extending through the apertures in thetransversewall each having its open end secured in and communicatingthrough the aligned apertures in the bottom end wall and its closed enddisposed below the upper end wall, means on said bottom end wallextending upwardly for supporting said transverse wall in fixedposition, a skirt having its upper edge secured to the converter sidewall and its lower edge secured to said transverse wall for dividing themain chamber into lanupper reaction chamber for containing contactmaterial and a manifold below the reaction chamber. other apertures insaid transverse wall providing communication between said reactionchamber and said reactant manifold, a depending side wall secured to thereaction chamber side wall. a heat exchange duid manifold having opposedupper and lower walls secured to said depending side wall inspacedrelation with the converter bottom end wall forming with said bottom endwall, a second heat exchangeiiuid manifold which is in communicationwith the open ends of said closed end tubes. a plurality of open endtubes each having one open end secured to and communicating through theupper wall of the nrst mentioned heat exchange fluid manifold and itsother open end positioned in the closed end tubes, and means forsupplying fluid to one 'of the heat exchange manifolds for passage inreverse now through the tubes to the other heat exchange fluid manifold.

4. A heat exchange unit comprising a duid manifolding chamber includingopposed upper of heattexchange tubesA each having an end extending intothe chamber through said apertures,

aperhires inthe tubes adjacent the ends permittingtion with said chamberand bearing surfaces on the tubes for cooperating with the divergingsides of the apertures, removableplusstiallyinlinewithandabuttingthetubeendsto place the bearing surfaceunder compression.

l 6. Aheat exchangeunit comprising a fluid manifolding chamber includingopposed upper aperturesinthetubesadiacenttheendspermit:

75 verging sides, apertures in the tubes adjacent the extending throughthe other wall substanends permitting communication with the iiuidchamber. bearing surfaces on the tubes for coopetatih with the inwardlydiverging sides of thefapertures, removable plugs extending through theother manifold wail into the chamber, vsait! plugs and said tube endshavingV cooperating screw threads thereon to maintain the tubes in fixedposition and to place the bearing surfaces in compression. Y

7. A heat exchange unit comprising a. uid manifolding chamber havingopposed upper and lower walls, apertures having inwardly diverging sidesin the upper wall and a plurality of heat exchange tubes each having anend extending through said apertures into the chamber, apertures in thetubes adjacent the ends permitting communication with said chamber,bearing surlaces on the =`tubes for cooperating with the diverging sidesci the apertures and screw means in the other wall and placing thebearing surx0 faces in compression.

EUGENE J. HOUDRY.

